Tell us about your company?
Founded by the Marquess of Antella and a team of Hewlett Packard engineers, Integrasys was established 30 years ago, in 1990. Initially dedicated to developing automated signal monitoring for the government, the company has since gone on to develop technologies for streamlining communications – especially within satellite network environments and remote areas, thereby bridging the digital divide.
Today, Integrasys has evolved into a software development and engineering company which specializes in satellite network design, deployment, maintenance, and interference mitigation tools. Its services and products enable the monitoring of critical satellite infrastructure, in both the commercial and defence sectors.
In addition to its signal monitoring products, the company also offers a range of VSAT deployment, maintenance, and link budget solutions for telcos and satellite service providers, satellite operators and governments around the globe. With offices in Europe, the Americas and Asia, Integrasys employees are readily available to offer its customers the highest level of customer service.
The company continues to evolve and adapt to the changing needs of Satellite Operators, especially the growing complexity surrounding network design, deployment, maintenance, and interference mitigation. Integrasys’ product portfolio boasts innovative software solutions coupled with intuitive, easy-to-use interfaces to make the process accurate and straightforward. Being cloud-based and virtualized makes them particularly appealing for these COVID times.
What industry challenges are having the biggest influence on your work at the moment?
We always strive to be ahead of the curve in terms of innovation and adapting our technology to the latest market trends. Right now, we are witnessing a paradigm of new technologies evolving and adapting to new industry requirements. As connectivity becomes increasingly important in schools, health, law, and homes, these requirements and challenges become ever more demanding.
As a software company focused on improving and simplifying connectivity, we see our role as providing satellite operators the means to offer a high-quality service. Achieving this is no mean feat, and over the years we have seen partners and other industry members come under heavy economic strain in their quest. Integrasys has adapted its business model to provide a more OPEX solutions instead of our traditional CAPEX intensive solutions to address this, also adapting to a virtualize environment without traveling or requiring shipping boxes as we used to do.
What innovative solutions are you working on to address the issue?
We have been working on updating our Link Budget Calculation Tool, Beam Budget to support LEO and MEO constellations, as well as flat panel antennas. With so much development happening in these areas, we knew it was important for this tool to be ready to support those. The functionalities of Beam Budget needed to be dynamic in order to recognise the new constellations which are more complex, while ensuring that it remains easy for the user.
Our other major development this year has been Satmotion API. This is a new product, which automates the access to satellite for maritime and aero connectivity. We anticipate these areas will see a big demand once COVID is over.
What are your thoughts on spectrum management?
The market is becoming more demanding, with consumers looking to be connected faster, longer and with a higher bandwidth. As 5G and LEO open the door to smart cities and the internet-of-things, interference mitigation will once again become a greater challenge for the industry. As such, satellite operators will need RFI solutions in order to ensure that 5G installations do not interfere with other networks.
In our case for the government applications, we are developing an interference cancellation technology with the support of European Space Agency (ESA). As there has been an obvious shift towards virtual technology, this will monitor RF in the cloud without the need for a spectrum analyser.
cloud-based and virtualized makes them particularly appealing for these COVID times.
Do you think creating innovative solutions for cyber security is a priority for the satcoms industry?
Yes, I think that if we want to provide services efficiently, automation will be crucial. There are lots of manual processes that need to be changed and become automated, and more secure. The problem is that the RF systems can be attacked so we are developing Clean RF to mitigate any attack in satellite signals. Cyber security is becoming increasingly important, which is why we are continually improving our cyber team to develop innovation in this arena for governments and entities around the globe.
Do you have any interesting plans for the next couple of months?
We do have several things in the pipeline. Firstly, our Satmotion Pocket Release on the new iPhone 12 just released will be very well adopted, followed by the Beam Budget Q4 discount campaign has brought significant sales that will require very rapid remote installation as it is a very time sensitive tool for service and satellite providers looking to sell more capacity next year. We will also be improving our OPEX models to better meet the demands of our customers. We plan on continuing seeing our friends at webinars and virtual shows, including a number of webinars in the coming days with GVF, APSCC and NSR. It is so important to us that we continue our close relationship with our partners, customers and our friends.
based and virtualized makes them particularly appealing for these COVID times.
Why do you feel it is important to be a member of SIG?
We consider SIG a great organization and group to improve technology, solve industry challenges and interact with industry friends. We have been SIG members in the past, and under the new leadership we decided it was definitely an organisation we wanted to support.
Has your business been impacted by Covid19 and what steps have you taken to mitigate this?
COVID has not stopped our product launches, nor has it delayed any of our projects considerably. We are being very productive, and despite the COVID, we are having an excellent year. We are always looking to pioneer new technology and reach new customers. As we venture ever further into cloud services, our main goal for the year ahead is to think outside of the box and look for markets that demand innovation and new ideas. We have already found many opportunities which we look forward to sharing over the coming months.
As news of a vaccine emerges, we can begin thinking about welcoming our staff back into a secure and safe working environment. Whilst we hope to maximize efficiency, our main priority is to ensure that staff feel comfortable and secure in their roles amidst these troubling times. We have taken measurements in order to be as flexible as possible with our staff, offering teleworking since the beginning of the pandemic.
We have changed some of our tools, so that installations and support can be done remotely, and systems can be virtualized in order to avoid shipping anything. We have also made online training free of charge so that we can help our customers without going there in person or adding expenses.
We have also developed our online store on our website, where partners can purchase our products easily and quickly. We have included a detailed description with videos, photos and purchasing information so that everything is clear and secure.